How to Fix a Tight Pelvic Floor.

A pelvic floor therapist’s perspective on getting rid of pelvic floor tension.

We hear it time and time again, women that think that their pelvic floor should be strong, and nothing else! Many don’t understand that the pelvic floor can in fact be too tight, and that having a good, healthy pelvic floor isn’t just about contracting it all the time. 

If you have ever had:

• Difficulty inserting a tampon

• Pain with sex

• Urinary leakage but feel like your backs and hips are always tight

You might be dealing with pelvic floor tension. 

Tight muscles are not necessarily strong muscles, and are often times more problematic than weak muscles. 

What is a tight pelvic floor?

Tightness in muscles occurs when muscles get held tense for too long. Those muscles aren’t suddenly stronger, they are just tense.

Similar to you sitting and shrugging your shoulders all day, you wouldn’t describe your shoulders and neck as strong, but rather, tense. 

The same thing can happen to your pelvic floor! Holding it tense all day contributes to tension, not strength.

What are signs that I have a tight pelvic floor?

Signs you might have a pelvic floor include:

• Pain with sex

• Urinary leakage

• Urinary frequency

• Pain with urination

• Constipation

• Hemorrhoids

• Fissures

• Tailbone, hip, and back pain

How does the pelvic floor get too tight?

The pelvic floor is often the first muscle in our body that tenses in response to stress. Whether you just carry tension there, or whether you are under a good bit of stress, you might have tension in the pelvic floor muscles as a result. 

In addition, the pelvic floor muscles can go into spasm as a result of trauma such as a fall, car accident, surgery, or injury elsewhere. 

Lastly, the pelvic floor can get tense simply because you have become accustomed to holding it in all day. It is important that you learn to relax your pelvic floor, instead of keeping it tight all day.

The biggest mistake we see people make when it comes to pelvic floor exercises:

The biggest mistake that we see people make regarding pelvic floor exercises: They jump right into doing Kegels (or repetitive pelvic floor contractions).

Kegels are synonymous with pelvic floor PT, however continuing to contract an already tense muscle doesn’t make it function better, it can just make it worse. 

Most patients coming for pelvic floor tightness need to actually learn to let go of their pelvic floor. If you are struggling with urinary leakage, we know that this can feel counterintuitive!

So how do you fix a tight pelvic floor?

1. Learn how to breathe into your belly. 

• On inhale, your belly should expand, not draw in. This helps to create a lengthening and relaxation of the pelvic floor. 

• The biggest thing with learning how to relax is to understand that we aren’t forcing our pelvic floor down, but rather feel like we are letting it melt. 

2. Check in with how you are holding tension.

• Are you constantly sucking in your belly, squeezing your butt, clenching your jaw? We need to get you to stop that!

• All of that just creates more tension and tightness in your pelvic floor. 

3. Make sure that you are balancing stretching and strengthening.

• Many times, patients focus only on strengthening exercises, and not enough on stretching exercises. Your body needs balance. In order to keep your pelvic floor in a good state, your hips, and low back should have good mobility and flexibility.

When to see a pelvic floor PT for a tight pelvic floor.

If you have tried to focus on breathing, and tried implementing stretching exercises, but still have pain, or tightness in your pelvic floor, it’s time. 

Getting you in to see a professional that can do hands on release work, customize your exercises, and draw attention to habits and postures that might be more individualized to you and your symptoms is always recommended. 

What will happen in pelvic floor PT for a tight pelvic floor?

Pelvic floor physical therapists use a variety of techniques from exercises, to postural changes, to lifestyle modifications, to hands on/manual treatments that can help you relax your pelvic floor muscles.

Pelvic Floor PT in Bucks County, PA.

Vivid Women’s Health is a women’s health physical therapy practice located in Newtown, PA and Doylestown, PA. We provide unmatched pelvic floor physical therapy to help women resolve pelvic floor symptoms. 

If you are local to the Newtown, PA or Doylestown,  PA, Bucks County area, please click here to find out more about our in person services. If you are visiting our site from afar, we offer virtual services to help you overcome your pelvic health concerns. For virtual services, please click here.

We proudly put our patients first by offering one-on-one appointments for a full hour. You will have time to be heard and we will take time to listen to your whole story. You won’t be passed between different professionals and we will work to get you a holistic solution to your pelvic health concerns. We choose to participate in a private pay model so that we can focus on putting patients first.